C O N V E N T I O N FA R M T O U R
Convention Farm Tour Host:
Brownhaven Farms | New Bremen, Ohio Guernseys. Today the Brown brothers running the farm are Lou and his wife Deb along with Alan and his wife Ruth in addition to many family members. Brownhaven Farms Highlights: • 409 cows with an RHA: 24877M 891F 783P and the herd is 99% registered. • They milk in a double 10 Germania parlor but are expanding this spring to a double 20 Surge parlor. • They have a 250-cow drive through barn and just recently finished an 80-stall calf barn.
Brownhaven Farms of New Bremen, Ohio will graciously host a farm tour for the Ohio Convention on March 8th, 2024 at 07353 SR 364, New Bremen, Ohio Founded in 1959, Brownhaven farm began in a two-stanchion barn with Holsteins and
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• Their manure is kept in a 3 million gallon holding tank and their comprehensive nutrient management plan includes 900 acres. • They farm 400 acres of corn, soybeans and alfalfa and they have been extruding the soybeans since 1974 to feed the herd. • They recently added a second bulk tank to accommodate the spring flush and only use
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
it when needed. • They had 213 heifer calves born in 2023 and all the help on the farm is family. • They averaged seven tours per year for the last 10 years with people wanting to see their wetlands, conservation practices, the monarch butterfly habitat, the blue bird boxes, the quail that were released last year and their cover crop management. • They recently hosted a farm safety meeting with the local fire department to discuss the silos, the manure storage and the most dangerous equipment on the farm including feed mixers and choppers. • In 2019 Brownhaven was honored with the Member of Distinction Award from Dairy Farmers of America. The Browns are excited about hosting the farm tour and welcome everyone on March 8th! A full feature on Brownhaven will be included in the May-June issue of the Ohio Holstein News.